English Games with better box art.

[greedostick]

Besides the obvious, Valis III, does anyone like any American box art better than the Japanese version? I guess we would be comparing manual art technically, since Japanese games have no boxes.

I think Air Zonk art is much better looking than the Japanese Denjin version art. And better huey art as well.

But I honestly can not think of many more. They always screw us in the USA and UK! But there has to be at least a few more.

[johnnykonami]

Maybe Exile: Wicked Phenomenon, depending on your taste.  I like the clay/diorama cover better.

From this page (http://timewarpgamer.com/features/box_art_master_tg16.html) I was thinking King of Casino, Legendary Axe, Raiden, and Timeball.

By contrast I really like the PCE versions of Dungeon Explorer and Vigilante.  The shadows of the adventurers in DE are really cool!  And the closeup of the kidnapped girl in Vigilante are both more interesting than the "welp, in this you kick guys in the face in a junkyard" approach.

[Phase]

SuperPlay has this nice thread on it here https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=9703.0
I'd have to say AeroBlasters for one looks better
Magical Chase looks better without the weird window

While I like the US Air Zonk art I think I prefer the J cover do to it matches the Zonk 2d art that was in all the ads and inside the manual. Although the PCE cover has too many logos and the volume corner stuff going on. Also I think the US should have used the title font that was on the title screen instead of the round balloon red font.

[CrackTiger]

Valis III is infamous around here for being one of the worst North American covers, since the artwork looks like a man.

[esteban]

Valis III is infamous around here for being one of the worst North American covers, since the artwork looks like a man.

There is such a brooding atmosphere in NA's Valis III art as Tranny Yuko-cum-Sandra Bullock stands in stoic silence. I like the NA art (it has a classic, dramatic fantasy formula), but it doesn't belong on Valis.


DEVIL'S CRUSH

Speaking of trannies, I wish the Japanese Art for Devil Crash was more fierce/bolder because it does not hold my interest. I'm ok with "subtle" and "nuanced" compositions, but the female face (maybe it's the dead eyes?) falls flat and is boring. A bit more intensity (get rid of the lifeless eyes, lips*) and it could have been a haunting, intriguing cover. THEREFORE, despite the horribly goofy green demon-devil on the US cover, US wins.

* If the intention was to draw "lifeless" eyes and lips, well, damn, a real artist would have achieved this without the final result being so "blah"...I really feel a slight tweak or two would have made all the difference.

[CrackTiger]

Cosmic Fantasy II stands out as my all time favorite NA box art.  I applaud WD and their bold but righteous decision to eschew the "anime" styling of the game's cinematics and JP box art in favor of the ahead-of-its-time "drunken highschool art student" styling.  Bravo!

They should have just used the photo of the stand-ins used as the basis for it.

[wildfruit]

I prefer the NA dungeon explorer

[Psycho Punch]

Bloody Wolf (Same art but character centered on cover)
Air Zonker
Aero Blasters (stupid digitized Picture of jet + anime overlaid on JP version)
Chase HQ (you could argue that the US version is generic but it is a lot more cooler than the cartoony JP one)
Hit The ICE
Action Kung-Fu
Klax (lol)
Raiden
Sinistron (Only the logo surrounded by black, pretty cool imo)
Sonic Spike (Starring Duke Nukem)
SPLATTERHOUSE (the JP version with Rick punching one of those worms is kinda cool but it doesn't beat the US version).
Time Cruise

[CrackTiger]

Cosmic Fantasy II stands out as my all time favorite NA box art.  I applaud WD and their bold but righteous decision to eschew the "anime" styling of the game's cinematics and JP box art in favor of the ahead-of-its-time "drunken highschool art student" styling.  Bravo!

They should have just used the photo of the stand-ins used as the basis for it.

Does such a photo exist? I'd love to see it! I searched on google but this is what came up:

Vic Ireland swears that some people dressed up and posed for the photo in their office. I'd like to see the stand-in for Pico.

[ElSeven]

i always thought davis cup tennis had much better cover art for the NA release.  looking back on the threads that compared all the cover art, there are just so many horrible choices.  moto roader and cosmic fantasy 2 are hilariously terrible.

[johnnykonami]

Man, Bonk 3 US has Bonk looking pretty "special."  I will never understand why the Japanese art wasn't used in some of these cases, especially when it was cute and they had to make it serious for American kids because they wouldn't approve.  The Ordyne art is pretty silly, I love how they just had to change the pilot's faces.

I also want to add Silent Debuggers (Japanese) to my list of cool, subtle covers.  I love how they're just standing around waiting for something to happen, rather than BLAM shootin' aliens up in this piece!  Japanese designers are all around so good at story telling, even in a case like this it tells you so much more about the overall vibe of the game.

[Arkhan Asylum]

China Warrior's USA box art trumps Teh Kung Fu's.


http://pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Kung_Fu.htm 

see for yourself.

[Psycho Punch]

China Warrior's USA box art trumps Teh Kung Fu's.

No way dude, the stylized kung fu fighter drawing his vital energy around him in a bruce-lee esque pose is 100x better than that airbrushed crap.

[imparanoic]

most of the turbographx box art are simply naff and unappealing, some of simply disgusting, while the Japanese ones are far decent.

turbo grafx artwork is almost like the artwork on aphex twin 'windowlicker'. embarrassing!

[imparanoic]

http://slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/curiosities/2013/february/worst_video_game_cover.htm

the worst artwork on video games, makes want to squirt lemon juice on your eyes

[HailingTheThings]

I like Final Zone II, because bad.

Bad = Funny.

Funny = Yes.

 

[esteban]

i always thought davis cup tennis had much better cover art for the NA release.  looking back on the threads that compared all the cover art, there are just so many horrible choices.  moto roader and cosmic fantasy 2 are hilariously terrible.

ElSeven, you know I love you, but DAMN. MotoRoader?

YOU JUST MESSED WITH THE WRONG CINDERFELLA (namely, me). 

The Japansese cover is totally meh generic. It isn't horrible, but it is hilarious that you would elevate generic pap above THE TRULY CREATUVE, GLORIOUSU, UNIQUE NUART.

you think I jest (gratuitous use of "U" has that effect), but, sincerely, I am not goofin'

Here's the old thread:

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?msg=280215





But, even better, instead of ranting a new rant here in this thread, you can read about my take on the "Japan has better art" trope:

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?msg=278949

(I make a few posts before I argue that MotoRoader's cover is the Magritte of TG-16 art...)

[FiftyQuid]

http://slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/curiosities/2013/february/worst_video_game_cover.htm

the worst artwork on video games, makes want to squirt lemon juice on your eyes

What fuckin' game is this?  All I can make out is Thomas The Train.

[johnnykonami]

What fuckin' game is this?  All I can make out is Thomas The Train.

It's Zero Chou Aniki.

[Tatsujin]

non of 'em.

[FiftyQuid]

It's Zero Chou Aniki.

Crap.  Is there a character in it that even remotely resembles the Fat Controller?  If not, my son is going to be very disappointed. 

[imparanoic]

http://slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/curiosities/2013/february/worst_video_game_cover.htm

the worst artwork on video games, makes want to squirt lemon juice on your eyes

What fuckin' game is this?  All I can make out is Thomas The Train.

it's a homosexual themed shootemup, deliberately designed to camp, bizarre but has a weird following, probably never be translated in English, it's gay and proud, not sure there will be market in the west for this, probably people like the movie 'bruno' may like it

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/choaniki/choaniki.htm

[rtyper]

Why did US arms of Japanese companies have retarded marketing departments?
One of (if not THE) biggest complaints I had with them was their George Lucas style obsession with
faffing around with attractive design japanese consoles, game artwork and graphics.
With the Snes and TG16 (especially) resulting in some UGLY redesigns by people who obviously
thought they knew best with the purple and square snes, the grotesque oversized TG16 and
it didn't stop there.
Their family freindly Disney style rendering of cover/box artwork and game editing makes the retro
US game market very unappealing

[imparanoic]

It's Zero Chou Aniki.

Crap.  Is there a character in it that even remotely resembles the Fat Controller?  If not, my son is going to be very disappointed. 

you don't want to show this game to your son, it will corrupt minds

[Tatsujin]

I think only the two PCE aniki games are good ones.
rest is either crap, a cheap spin-off or/and no fun at all.

[imparanoic]

I think only the two PCE aniki games are good ones.
rest is either crap, a cheap spin-off or/and no fun at all.

sounds like you're cho aniki fan? is this game's visual and concept cringing ?

[megatron-uk]

DEVIL'S CRUSH

Speaking of trannies, I wish the Japanese Art for Devil Crash was more fierce/bolder because it does not hold my interest. I'm ok with "subtle" and "nuanced" compositions, but the female face (maybe it's the dead eyes?) falls flat and is boring. A bit more intensity (get rid of the lifeless eyes, lips*) and it could have been a haunting, intriguing cover. THEREFORE, despite the horribly goofy green demon-devil on the US cover, US wins.

* If the intention was to draw "lifeless" eyes and lips, well, damn, a real artist would have achieved this without the final result being so "blah"...I really feel a slight tweak or two would have made all the difference.

Seriously? This...



over this ...



I have to say that most of the US and, in fact, most western, releases of console games in the 80's and 90's was inferior to the Japanese artwork. I don't know why - perhaps the thinking was that the more adult nature of most Japanese cover art wouldn't suit Europeans and Americans. It was all just so damn cartoony. I don't think it was until well into the MD/Genesis and SNES life that art seemed to stop being so crap.

[DragonmasterDan]

Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge and Shockman are three US box arts I like more.

[Tatsujin]

Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge and Shockman are three US box arts I like more.

[Tatsujin]

I think only the two PCE aniki games are good ones.
rest is either crap, a cheap spin-off or/and no fun at all.

sounds like you're cho aniki fan? is this game's visual and concept cringing ?

I'm a fan of good shewties and cho aniki is a very good shewty. it is even a cd-rom only game but pulls off some of the most impressive grafx and bosses in the pce's library.

ever played it?

[CrackTiger]

I think only the two PCE aniki games are good ones.
rest is either crap, a cheap spin-off or/and no fun at all.

sounds like you're cho aniki fan? is this game's visual and concept cringing ?

The PCE Aniki titles are gorgeous works of imaginitive art. Ai Cho Aniki in particular is one of the best looking 16-bit console games. It's not so much of a gay theme as a body builder themed game. There is a culture of men who are only interested in other men who push their bodies to their limits.

That PSP cover is amazing and no different than similar over the top fighting game covers.

Do you honestly believe that homosexuls are created by playing games as children? Do you also believe that violent video games make people violent?

Do yourself a favor and never watch a Terry Gilliam film.

[esteban]

DEVIL'S CRUSH

Speaking of trannies, I wish the Japanese Art for Devil Crash was more fierce/bolder because it does not hold my interest. I'm ok with "subtle" and "nuanced" compositions, but the female face (maybe it's the dead eyes?) falls flat and is boring. A bit more intensity (get rid of the lifeless eyes, lips*) and it could have been a haunting, intriguing cover. THEREFORE, despite the horribly goofy green demon-devil on the US cover, US wins.

* If the intention was to draw "lifeless" eyes and lips, well, damn, a real artist would have achieved this without the final result being so "blah"...I really feel a slight tweak or two would have made all the difference.

Seriously? This...



over this ...



I have to say that most of the US and, in fact, most western, releases of console games in the 80's and 90's was inferior to the Japanese artwork. I don't know why - perhaps the thinking was that the more adult nature of most Japanese cover art wouldn't suit Europeans and Americans. It was all just so damn cartoony. I don't think it was until well into the MD/Genesis and SNES life that art seemed to stop being so crap.

Yeah, I feel that Devil Crash falls short, and, sadly, a few tweaks could have saved it from "passionless, limp" and transformed it into a truly "haunting, captivating" gem...

Read my posts in the old thread—I argue that 80's & 90's western art falls into a few categories ("goofy/corny" is one of them), but that simply because a NA cover is goofy does not preclude it from being an effective/interesting piece if art.

My main thesis: TG-16's art, on average, was NOT NEARLY AS OFFENSIVE/PATHETIC as art found on its contemporaries (NES, SMS, SNES, Genny). Why? Because a lot of TG-16 art, ultimately, is rather uninspired/bland/juvenile (a bit goofy), but other consoles are home to THE FAR WORSE OFFENDERS.

ALSO: Japan had a lot of crappy/generic/blah covers that folks give a pass on, simply because they are of Japanese origin.

DISCLAIMER: obviously, art is subjective, but I am glad that, from the vantage of 2014, we have several pieces of art to appreciate (per game) instead of just one, monolithic composition that was recycled for all markets worldwide.

GOOD STUFF ALL-AROUND: I dig the generic mech for Sidearms (JP), but I actually have more fun viewing the goofy NA cover (it is a classic western formula for fantasy/sci-fi). We should enjoy both.   

[imparanoic]

I think only the two PCE aniki games are good ones.
rest is either crap, a cheap spin-off or/and no fun at all.

sounds like you're cho aniki fan? is this game's visual and concept cringing ?

The PCE Aniki titles are gorgeous works of imaginitive art. Ai Cho Aniki in particular is one of the best looking 16-bit console games. It's not so much of a gay theme as a body builder themed game. There is a culture of men who are only interested in other men who push their bodies to their limits.

That PSP cover is amazing and no different than similar over the top fighting game covers.

Do you honestly believe that homosexuls are created by playing games as children? Do you also believe that violent video games make people violent?

Do yourself a favor and never watch a Terry Gilliam film.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B6%85%E5%85%84%E8%B2%B4

the wiki in Japanese specifies elements of gay culture, even subtitles of bit ver states ''The Legend of Holy Protein'' which u can suss out the meaning

BTW, I wasn't being serious in my last comments nor was I being anti-gay, sexual orientation is a personal thing, freedom of choice of one's orientation

[Arkhan Asylum]

Both Devil Crush/Crash have retarded box art, so it's not a big loss really.

Dragon's Fury boxart kicked it right in the balls.

[ElSeven]

i always thought davis cup tennis had much better cover art for the NA release.  looking back on the threads that compared all the cover art, there are just so many horrible choices.  moto roader and cosmic fantasy 2 are hilariously terrible.

ElSeven, you know I love you, but DAMN. MotoRoader?

YOU JUST MESSED WITH THE WRONG CINDERFELLA (namely, me). 

The Japansese cover is totally meh generic. It isn't horrible, but it is hilarious that you would elevate generic pap above THE TRULY CREATUVE, GLORIOUSU, UNIQUE NUART.

you think I jest (gratuitous use of "U" has that effect), but, sincerely, I am not goofin'

Here's the old thread:

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=13928.msg280215#msg280215


But, even better, instead of ranting a new rant here in this thread, you can read about my take on the "Japan has better art" trope:

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=13928.msg278949#msg278949

(I make a few posts before I argue that MotoRoader's cover is the Magritte of TG-16 art...)

ha yes i remember that thread but ....i just can't agree, i think even Final Zone II is better than motoroader's shitstain of a cover.  I can see the point you are making about magritte tho, but even he would turn his back and blush when confronted with the awkward cover art chosen for the US version of this game.

[greedostick]

Late one stormy night in the PC Engine marketing office:

Boss: Hey Kevin, we need to release some Japanese PC Engine games in the United States. But there is a problem! We have all these excellent Japanese covers already made, but no American cover art. It just makes perfect sense to spend time and money re-doing all these cover arts. In case you haven't noticed you are the only American here and we need an "American" style art that will appeal to your mongoloid race. Have you ever done art before? Preferably shitty air-brushed art of women that look like dudes?

Kevin: No sir.... but my 9 year old son is an amazing artist!

Boss: Perfect! That's the target age of our gamers! I'm going to give you some art supplies so your son can FUBAR these covers all up. Now make sure he knows that Americans are very immature, stupid, and can not handle violent the Japanese style of art. Make sure he knows the covers must be very "American" and look as shitty as humanly possible.

Kevin: Yes sir! You can count on me!

Boss: Great! Now get out of here you bucket of turds before I Judo Chop! you in your throat! REMEMBER! AS SHITTY AS POSSIBLE! WOMEN THAT LOOK LIKE DUDES! AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AIRBRUSHED AND LOOK LIKE THE HAVE MRDD!

Kevin: Thank you for this opportunity sir! These covers are going to be so Shiteous, everyone is going to love them!

[warpig227]

i personally like the american air zone box art better. something about the colors and simplicity

[esteban]

i personally like the american air zone box art better. something about the colors and simplicity

Air Zonk? Yeah, I can see that.

CONTINUING: I personally prefer US Ordyne vs JP Ordyne.